Stubbington Green Runners

SO, given the choice of a gentle Sunday morning lie-in, a chance to read the newspaper in the August sunshine or to run 21kms across the West Sussex countryside, what would you choose?

Tony Allen chose to the run, by taking part in the Milland Valley Trail Race, organised by Liss Runners.

There is a choice of either a six-mile of 21km run across tracks, paths and quiet lanes on the Sussex/Surrey and Hampshire border around the village of Milland.

The terrain is hilly, and with a 10.30am start for the longer distance, the race is particularly tough.

Tony thrives in the warm conditions, and he breezed round the course for third place in a time of 1hr 23min 33sec for first in his Vet category.

The race was won by Philip Sanger from Epsom & Ewell Harriers in a time of 1:22.19, with Annabelle Stearne from Invicta East Kent the leading lady in 1:33.37.

Chris Hall struggled home in 32nd place. Well, he said he struggled. "I had a bloody nightmare run at Milland. Don't know what was wrong with me, and don't say I'm getting old," insisted the Hall-meister. Chris finished in a time of 1:38.42.

Lauren Coates had an outing in the August sunshine and was the 11th senior lady to finish in a time of 2:08.34 for 184th overall. A total of 287 runners took part in the run.

There was also a six-mile run, with Andy James taking part. The race was staged 50 minutes before the 21km event, and Andy came home in 43min 38sec. There was some confusion at the end over results, but based on Andy's timing he finished 13th.

The race was won by Chris Scott from City of Portsmouth in 35min 26sec. The first lady to finish in a field of 74 runners was Jutta Price from The Stragglers club in a time of 47:30 for 21st overall.